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dave3156 · 03-19-2007, 02:38 PM

I made my own bed wood. I used poplar and it turned out nice. Make sure that the boards turn out VERY square with no bow in them. The strips won't fit right if you don't. The hardest part was cutting the grooves in the edges for the bed strips to sit down into. I did it with a table saw and some of the grooves did not turn out wide enough. Make the grooves about twice as wide as you think they need to be. Also be sure to sand the boards down real smooth. If you leave the side thats up just a little rough it will show up in your finish. Also seal both sides of the boards. I used 3 coats of spar polyurethane on top and two on bottom. Measure your truck. I found mine not exactly the same length as what the spec said. It was close but not exact. Good luck with the project.

03-19-2007, 02:38 PM	#11
dave3156 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 336	Re: Milling your own bed wood I made my own bed wood. I used poplar and it turned out nice. Make sure that the boards turn out VERY square with no bow in them. The strips won't fit right if you don't. The hardest part was cutting the grooves in the edges for the bed strips to sit down into. I did it with a table saw and some of the grooves did not turn out wide enough. Make the grooves about twice as wide as you think they need to be. Also be sure to sand the boards down real smooth. If you leave the side thats up just a little rough it will show up in your finish. Also seal both sides of the boards. I used 3 coats of spar polyurethane on top and two on bottom. Measure your truck. I found mine not exactly the same length as what the spec said. It was close but not exact. Good luck with the project.